Capybara
PITTSBURGH – A famously friendly wild animal turned mean at the Pittsburgh Pet Expo and bit a child, a recent lawsuit alleges.
Allegheny County and Pittsburgh’s Sports & Exhibition Authority are among the defendants in a case alleging a capybara sunk his teeth into a girl in November. The Pet Expo, a large consumer pet trade show held yearly at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, allows visitors to interact with animals.
“Without warning,” a capybara bit plaintiff C.W. on the hand, a lawsuit filed last week says, “creating a deep wound and severe injuries.”
The largest rodent on earth, the capybara is the star of countless internet posts and is known for its gentle nature. But C.W.’s lawsuit faults those handling it at the Pet Expo in “permitting a dangerous, hazardous, and/or unsafe condition to exist on the premises.”
They failed “to take proper precautions to ensure the capybara was not a danger to all persons including Plaintiff in the surrounding area,” the suit says.
Other defendants include Sponsorship Solutions and Niagara Down Under. The lawsuit blames them for scarring to the girl’s hand, weakness in it, injuries to “muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves and tissues” ad pain and suffering.
C.W. has also been “embarrassed” and “humiliated,” the suit says.
Mark Malone of Morgan & Morgan represents the plaintiff.
